Valtteri Bottas’ Formula 1 career could be over or it will be assured for several more seasons.
After Singapore, the Finn appeared to be heading towards a new one-year contract with Audi-owned Sauber, but the situation changed dramatically over the three weekend break that followed.
Meanwhile, the options of younger drivers Mick Schumacher, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto have regained interest by Mattia Binotto’s own admission in Austin.
“At the moment it seems more to depend on Mattia than on me. I remain positive because I think I am the best option, but of course there is a risk that I will not get the place. But we also have established a good connection since his arrival. We discussed my future and also technical matters. Bottas confided again yesterday after the finish.
Binotto revealed he met Mick Schumacher in Austin and “I explained to him that nothing had been decided yet”.
As for Colapinto, James Vowles confirmed that he had offered him a loan but has not yet received an official response.
“I do not at all exclude that Franco will be on the starting grid next year. When we see his race in Austin again, I have no doubt that Mattia was sensitive to it. He scored points on the track and in spirits.”
The friendly and impressive Argentine rookie, meanwhile, also seems to think he still has a chance, joking after the US GP: “Maybe next year, if I don’t have a steering wheel, I’ll become a strategy engineer instead.”
His point of 10th place was also celebrated as a victory by an impressive mass of fans after the finish (photo)!
Whoever ultimately gets the Audi-Sauber seat, it won’t be a one-year interim contract that has recently been rumored.
"We’re looking to the future and trying to build a team," Binotto said after the race.
“A one-year contract would not make sense from that point of view, so we are negotiating a multi-year contract,” he added, believing that a decision will be made “no later than mid-November”.
As for Bottas, it may not be good news.
“I heard Bottas will return to Mercedes as a test driver in 2025,” former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher revealed on Sunday.
The Swiss newspaper Blick also confirms this rumor and reports that Ralf Schumacher, like them, learned the information directly from Bottas’ entourage.
